1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an adapter for receiving a rectangular beverage container and for securely supporting the rectangular beverage container in a circular aperture or cylindrical recess.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In recent years, automobile manufacturers have increasingly tended to provide beverage holders in automobile and truck interiors. Aftermarket accessories including such beverage holders are also sold for use in automobiles and trucks. Such beverage holders are commonly provided in planar horizontal surfaces, in drawers, or in folding shelves. The beverage holders may comprise circular apertures in horizontal planar members (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,058 to Nakayama). Alternatively, such beverage holders may be partly circular apertures in horizontal members (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,018 to Parker), or cylindrical recesses in horizontal members (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,061 to Plavetich et al).
Such beverage holders are generally sized to receive snugly a conventional 12 ounce beverage can approximately 25/8 inches in diameter, or a conical cup of approximately the same mean diameter. Such beverage holders are convenient, particularly to the parents of small children; in particular, spillage of the beverage during driving is reduced if the consumer places the beverage container in the beverage holder when not drinking from it. However, such beverage holders are only useful when the beverage container of interest fits snugly within the beverage holder.
In recent years it has become increasingly popular to sell fruit juices and other such drinks in rectangular disposable containers of waxed paperboard or similar materials. Such containers are referred to commonly and herein as "juice boxes". Such juice boxes are typically rectangular containers on the order of 41/4 inches high, 15/8 inches deep and 25/8 inches long. Typically a small aperture in the material of the upper surface of the juice box is covered only with foil, and a drinking straw is packaged with the juice box. A child or parent can then puncture the foil at the aperture with the straw, allowing the child to drink the beverage. Such juice boxes are conveniently sized for small children and are very popular. However, their dimensions are such that they do not fit within the typical beverage holders provided as part of many modern automobiles or as aftermarket accessories.
One defect of juice boxes is that by squeezing the box, the child can squirt juice out the aperture provided for the straw or out the straw if one is provided. Obviously this can be messy and if not cleaned up promptly may leave a permanent stain. Accordingly, there have also been sold juice box "shells", which are typically two-piece plastic enclosures adapted to receive a juice box. The plastic of the shell is sufficiently rigid to resist squeezing by a child. In use, the parent opens the shell, inserts the juice box, closes the shell by snapping a cap shut or placing an upper shell portion over a lower shell portion, and inserts the straw through the foil. Such juice box shells are particularly useful with younger children.
While such juice box shells are useful to reduce spillage of beverages by squeezing a juice box, their use exacerbates the inability of typical beverage holders to receive a juice box, as the juice box shell increases the overall dimensions of the juice box by at least the thickness of the walls of the juice box shell. Thus, spillage due to squirting of the juice from the juice box may be eliminated by using a juice box shell, but spillage due to tipping over of the juice box may still occur due to the inability of the typical beverage holder to receive a juice box, with or without a shell.